Need Help!

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Hello All,
I am relatively new to hand guns and have aquired several from my uncle. I have several questions as I have been unable to get them answered else where. I have 2 .38 specials and one has a jaming problem and I don't know if I am using the wrong ammo or what. I cleaned it really well and oiled it... I have shotguns and have done this before so I don't have a problem there. My problem is that the .38 spc "auto" as my uncle called it doesn't load the next round after firing the first. It jams in the slide and holds the slide open instead of placing it in the chamber like it should. I have been using .38 spec Wad Cutter ammo as the .38 spec round nose won't fit in the clip. I believe it's a 1940's model..? I will attach a pic and any information any of you can give me would be good... The slide reads .38 Spe M.R. I don't have the serial number right now...

Have you tried different brands/types of ammo? That is the first thing you should probably try. Also, does that magazine seem to load the rounds to the top sufficiently? These are the first things that I would do.

There are 2 semi autos I know of chamber for .38 special, one is the S&W M52. It was designed as target gun and to use wadcutters only. But the photos I've seen of it show Smith & Wesson on the left side of the slide.

The other is a Colt conversion package for a 1911. Also used wadcutters only. I've never even seen photos of this one.

"I personally think we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain."--Jane Wagner
"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
-Isaac Asimov

You seem to have a Colt's M1911 (not M1911A1!) that was modified by a gunsmith or by one of the military's marksmanship units to fire .38 Special ammunition.
These pistols have the reputation of being finicky and fussy. They are ammunition sensitive. If the wadcutter loads you are firing do not have exactly the right bullet, and exactly the right powder charge, you'll get jams and malfunctions.
Your gun may be more a collector's item than a "shooter."